Traffic citations have surged a dramatic 81 percent this January
through June compared to the same time period last year, city
statistics show
– welcome news to residents frustrated by speeders and other
scofflaws behind the wheel.
Gilroy – Traffic citations have surged a dramatic 81 percent this January through June compared to the same time period last year, city statistics show – welcome news to residents frustrated by speeders and other scofflaws behind the wheel.
Police chalk up the increase to the city’s new traffic officer, Nestor Quiñones, who took the job in January. The assignment had remained vacant since 2005, when Cpl. Joseph Crivello was promoted out of the position.
Officers also took on hours of overtime after a 5-year-old boy died last fall in a Gilroy crosswalk – the third pedestrian killed in Gilroy in less than a year. Police targeted school zones, where parents have often complained of risky driving near children walking to and from school.
“Having a designated traffic officer on a motorcycle really helps increase the number of citations,” said Gilroy Police Sgt. Jim Gillio, the department spokesperson. “Plus the different traffic enforcement plans that patrol officers came up with … Those two factors are probably the main things that increased our [citation] numbers.”
Meanwhile, traffic problems have risen slightly: The city weathered seven hit-and-run accidents with injuries from January to July, compared to two during the same span last year. Citywide, the accident rate has increased slightly, from 2.43 to 2.68 serious accidents per 1,000 residents.
Gilroy police are awaiting the results of a sweeping $55,000 staffing study, which will assess how officers are deployed in the department, before deciding whether to buy a second motorcycle to bolster traffic enforcement. The second bike could be used by reserve officer Benjamin Charnota or by officer John Ballard, who was hired this spring.
Traffic citations aren’t a major source of revenue, added Sgt. Gillio, but the boost in tickets might dissuade drivers from speeding on Gilroy streets.
“It’s not a large amount of money that comes back,” said Gillio. “It’s more the education and enforcement.”
